The Pyromaniac and the Demon Cat
by Kouseki-Tsukimono
Summary: Qiuyue and Kuzii find themselves transported to the 1/2 prince universe by the DoL with a mission to help prince. However, the unlucky pair have to counter so many obsacles to even meet prince. eventually, romance priXgui and OCs, NOW pure crack humour! PLEASE READ !
1. Second Life

**First and foremost I would like to apologise to my dear readers of Dragged Away From All They Know for not updating in so long and starting a new story. However my muse has fled with my plot bunny and my friend has instead forced a new plot bunny upon me.**

**Now, this is likely to be the most serious chapter of the whole story so if you are looking for something serious, go elsewhere, if you are looking for randomness and crack then it will come soon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own 1/2 Prince (dammit), only the few OCs that will be incorporated into this story (Qiuyue/Skye and Kuzii/Fukuko) for which the ownership is shared between myself and Fukuko-chan**

**Rated T for swearing and nakedness that shall come in the next chapter.**

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_**Chapter 1 – Second Life**_

Dark sapphire eyes close on reality, letting dreams take over for the hours of darkness till morning comes again.

The dark orbs are revealed once more in the dreamscape, appearing black with thin veins of silver where the moonlight reflects off the lighter hues. Trees line the perfectly circular clearing occupied by the young woman, thick black hair falling to her shoulders in light waves.

Before she has time to observe anything more, a figure steps out from the shadowed edges of the forest. Long red hair falls to his hips, held back by a band of bones with a small horned skull just off centre at the top, with bangs framing his face and accenting the tattoo on his right cheek. The man wears a military style coat with a metal spaulder on his right shoulder. Large, red, dragon-like wings shift restlessly on his back as his piercing gaze from cat-like blue eyes lands on the woman before him. A second woman followed the demon-esque man, strait hair like mahogany sitting just below her shoulders, light sea-blue eyes betraying slight fear and confusion.

"Kuzii?" The second woman's eyes snapped to see the first, quickly slipping past the man, she hugged the other.

"Qiuyue? Any idea where we are?" They simultaneously glanced at the winged male that stared impassively at them from the shadows of the tree line.

"You are here at my wish, the location is irrelevant. Xiao-Lan, Prince in Second Life, shall need assistance soon. I have decided you would be well suited to help her. Come." The man held out a hand for them, his eyes staring steadily at the pair. The two women hesitated, wondering why a character from a manga they often read was wanting their help, but Kuzii was the first to jump forwards, obeying his command, when the passive stare turned into the beginnings of an angry glare. Qiuyue followed at a more dignified pace, refusing to make a fool of herself by acting like a frightened rabbit. Kuzii grabbed the out-stretched hand, Qiuyue placing hers more gently on top while throwing a despairing glance at her friend.

"You shall enter Second Life, one as an NPC to always watch over her there, the other as a player that can see her outside as well." A cold wind starts to pick up, whirling around the small group, though not disturbing any leaves on the surrounding trees. Darkness threatens to overcome the women's visions.

You must find Prince in Second Life. Qiuyue shall also find her as Xiao-Lan. In Second Life your names shall be Skye Ravenfeather and Fukuko." He indicated Qiuyue and Kuzii respectively before fading and leaving the pair to fall into darkness.

Cerulean eyes blinked slowly, squinting in the sunlight as their owner's mind screamed silent insults at the sun for being 'so damned bright'. A groan escaped the woman as she stood, a long curtain of china black hair falling to her knees, sliding across her body in response to her movements like fine silk.

After a few minutes of frustration trying to push the added length away, she gives up and pulls the lot into a rough ponytail that's held in place by an extra strand of hair tied around the rest.

"Hey, are you a new player?" The woman turned around to see a brown haired and eyed girl with a sword at her side, "I can show you the ropes around here if you like."

"I think I've got it covered, thanks anyway." The girl flinched slightly at the piercing stare levelled at her and the cold, harsh edge to the elder's voice, which was a product of her personality rather than any grudge against the younger.

"Well, PM me if you need anything, my name's Scarlet Falcon" The woman nodded and turned away, allowing Scarlet Falcon's posture to relax.

She spoke quietly as she left, "Skye Ravenfeather."

Skye exited the Newbie Village, wanting to take out her frustration, of the non-sensicle situation she found herself in, out on the slimes that populate the lightly wooded grassland outside the village, discovering in the process that it's incredibly therapeutic to punch slimes till they die. After levelling a couple of times, she actually paused to take note of the items she had acquired. She sold the items deemed useless – e.g. a knife, slime essences – kept a low-level wand and bought some health potions as she headed out again to kill some water spirits in order to gather their essences for the quest to become a mage. The only mishap that occurred during this time, before she finished sitting comfortably at level ten, was when a crab got thrown at her and tangled itself in her hair. Completing the quest, Skye received a much more powerful ice staff, also gaining the abilities Rain of Hail and Freeze.

The young woman continued to train alone, being much the solitary type of person, swiftly rising through a few levels while fighting the wolves and skeletons in the forest that extends from the border of the village. Skye thought to fight her was East in order to reach the main city of the Southern Continent but ended up going South-East due to her lack of sense of direction, soon coming upon the marsh that sits at the forest's edge and continues until it reaches the foot of the mountain range which runs from the coast to the continent's centre.

A wet, muddy and severely pissed off mage steps onto the relatively dry land at the other edge of the marsh, untangling a crab from her hair (again) and glaring at it as if it were the cause of her current predicament. Namely, the fact she now had a great mountain range in front of her. She throws the crab at the mountains and comments quietly to herself, "I hate my life."

Dark sapphire eyes, with thin cerulean veins disrupting the dark colour, open as the virtual reality glasses are removed from them. Qiuyue yawns and blinks sleepily, glancing around the new room, so different from her normal one. Panic starts to rise until her memory catches up with her and she realises that her interaction with the Dictator of Life was not just a dream. The young woman rises, exploring her new house. She finds most things the same as she had before, which was a bonus for her to find a job as she still had her degree in Chemistry. A quick flick through the morning newspaper revealed an opening for a university Chemistry teacher, which Qiuyue jumped for an evil cackle beginning in her mind as she though of how much she could torment the poor little students…

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**And we have a chapter, it only took me a day to write which has got to be the fastest I've ever written a chapter.**

**Anyways, reviewers get cookies, an extra one for anyone who notices the Hetalia reference. **

**Rest assured that the seriousness will vanish rapidly and crack will soon follow.**

**Your apologising-for-having-a-new-plot-bunny-but-it's-multiplying-so-can't-be-ignored author**

**Kouseki**


	2. The Pink Fish

**And I present Chapter 2, be happy^^**

**Arigatou chocolaty and Cookie-TheDestroyer for reviewing, reviews feed the plot bunny(,cat, tortoise and owl, Fukuko-chan drew these onto the word plot in our story planning so they are now our plot menagerie), flames burn my brother. **

**Disclaimer: I still find myself not owning 1/2 Prince (dammit)**

**Warnings: Swearing, Nakedness, Crab abuse(please note that no crabs were harmed in the making of this fanfic) and pink fish**

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_**Chapter 2 – The Pink Fish**_

"Bloody Dictator of Life, why the Hell is it so fucking cold? When I get my hands on him, he'll regret coming to me for help." An insane giggle erupts as sanity is thrown to the wind due to cold over-riding the brain cells of the mage that had scaled up one side of a mountain and was staring on her descent. This was not helped by the fact she was wearing a full length, midnight blue dress and that her ash-grey cloak kept falling under her feet as she tried to climb down. Skye dropped the last couple of metres, her body falling into a roll on contact with the ground to prevent any damage. Sprinting to the pond that rested a couple of hundred metres from the base of the mountain, she dived into it, revelling in the warm of the water compared to the ice and snow she had been trudging through for the last day in Second Life. To vent, she grabbed one of the many crabs that made the pond-floor their home and chucked it at the icy mountain she had just crossed, maniacal laughter following the satisfying crunch it made as it became a splat on the mountainside.

Sadism satisfied, she allowed the sluggish current to drag her downstream, testing some of her abilities in controlling the water around her.

The crash of pouring water shocked the mage out of her tests and she rose to her feet, finally noticing the waterfall that stood fifty metres further down the river. Skye took note of the zombies that were crowding around the river's south bank and thought it would be a good time to practice her Water Gun ability. The zombies fell one after another pelted by high speed water drops, though for every three shots that hit the zombies, Skye took another in the face, eventually leaving her more pissed off than when she started. Somehow this seems counter-productive to the idea of stress relief.

Further misfortune befell her from an encounter with a fish at the top of the waterfall, said fish - a _neon pink _fish - placed itself beneath her foot, causing her to stumble when it moved and sending her over the edge, to fall twenty feet to the cool pool at the bottom._  
_

"Bloody fish, how the hell does it not fall down the waterfall as well?" Skye froze at the sound of laughter and put on her iciest death-glare, aimed at the origin. Said glare quickly morphed through embarrassment to incredulousness when the origin was revealed to be a woman with short, spiky, mahogany brown hair, matching cat ears and tail and sea blue, cat eyes. She also happened to be naked with conveniently placed mist from the waterfall to cover her.

"Kuzii? For God's sake, put some clothes on." The mage threw her cloak around her friend's shoulders. The cloak was full enough to completely cover her and had a high collar.

"Qiuyue? Oh, but remember I'm Fukuko now and you're Skye Ravenfeather... Ooh, can I call you Venven, I'll call you Venven, yay! And you're a water and ice mage, that's weird I thought you would go for fire given how much of a pyromaniac you are but maybe it's better you didn't for the same reason. Ooh, I forgot, you've triggered a hidden quest because you slipped on the pink fish and fell down the waterfall, now you need to catch the fish for me, yay fishing, isn't this going to be fun?" By the end of the hyper babble, Skye had face palmed and was muttering quietly to herself, "Why, oh why, did she have to turn back into her usual babble-mouth self?"

"Remember, the fish has to be alive, if you kill it you fail and you only get one chance, so come on, come on, catch the fish, catch the fish, I love fish, my favourite is trout, particularly rainbow trout, but salmon is quite nice and tuna and..." Skye tuned out the babble and concentrated on the pink fish that was swimming tauntingly slowly in front of her. A dive to catch it left the mage wet and annoyed with a crab in her hair and a pink fish doing the fish equivalent of laughing at her.

The crab flew and the edges of the pool began to freeze so the fish couldn't escape.

"Ooh, it's freezing can I skate on it, Venven have you got the fish yet, I think that fish would taste nice, should I roast it or smoke it or boil it or... Wait Venven can I swim I wanna swim you can still catch the fish if I'm swimming can't you, I know you can, Yay, swimming and fish afterwards, Ooh, fish I love fish..." A tick mark developed on Skye's forehead, her expression changing form annoyed concentration to horror when Fukuko stepped out of the cloak and prepared to dive.

"No, you can't swim, get that cloak on, 'Kuko. Do you want to catch your death by swimming in freezing water?" The mage dragged the other by her cat ears and draped the cloak back over her, pointedly ignoring the pleading kitty eyes that were directed at her. A relatively light glare was sent at Fukuko when she tried to protest, causing her to pout. However she brightened when she thought over what Skye had said.

"You gave me a nickname, yay she gave me a nickname on her own , I've always had to tell you to give me nicknames but you're learning..." Skye tuned out the babble again and turned back to the pool to continue her fishing session, the object of which was sporting a grin that was very out of place on a fish that wasn't a piranha.

The ice surrounding the pool slowing inched inwards reducing the space the fish could swim in, eventually leaving the fish with just enough room to swim in a small circle with very little depth available. Until, that is, the cat eared woman decided to try ice-sliding (similar to ice-skating but without the skates) barefoot on thin ice, promptly resulting in her breaking the ice and falling in, releasing the fish and making the mage despair while dragging her back onto shore.

"If you so much as move a finger until I have caught that damn fish, I shall freeze your feet to the ground. Do you understand, Fukuko?" There was a 'but' on the tip of her tongue until the full-blown death-glare with dark, evil aura included were aimed at her. She managed to borrow a brain from somewhere and gulped, nodding at her friend, hoping that her life would be spared this time so she could irritate Skye more at a later date.

After another freezing of the pool and an attack by an annoyed crab, the fish was caught, though still trying to escape even as it was brought to its doom in the form of a cat-woman.

"Yay, the fish, you caught it and I didn't move either, so I can have it now?" A nod accompanied by the tossing of a neon pink fish was all the response she got, but it was enough for Fukuko to change into a small black cat, leaving the ashen cloak in a heap on the ground, and start happily munching on the fish, releasing contented purrs to show her appreciation to the woman who stood gaping at the cat that was formerly a woman with cat ears and tail.

Skye's jaw snapped shut as Fukuko changed back into her human form, pulling the cloak around her before she was shouted at.

**System Notice : Skye Ravenfeather acquires human pet. Please set a name for your pet.**

"Fukuko..." Skye glanced at the shape-shifter as the stats for her appeared before them.

**Pet Name: Fukuko**

**Pet Owner: Skye Ravenfeather**

**Level: 100**

**HP: 8,000**

**MP: 4,000**

**Strength: 100**

**Physique:200 **

**Agility: 150**

**Intellect: 50**

**Energy: 200**

**Special: Mission Pet**

**Cannot Level**

**Cannot learn new skills**

**Skills: Barrier**

**Magic Permeable Barrier**

**Physical Permeable Barrier**

**Ranged Barrier**

**Ghostly Fire**

**Shape Change - Cat**

**Shape Change - Nekomata**

**Smokescreen**

The cat demon remained oblivious to all that happened and started a new babble when Skye looked at her.

"Ooh, you have such pretty hair now, should grow it out in real life, can I play with it please, please please please pleeeeease?" The mage tried ignoring the mantra of pleases from the other and ask about what had happened but the need for semi-quiet outweighed the possibility of a bad outcome from allowing her to do as she wished.

"Yay, it's such pretty hair, you shouldn't have tied it up so haphazardly, and it seems like you've had a few crabs in it as well, that's not good for it, you should be more careful..." Again Skye's art of ignoring the ranting of Fukuko came in handy as she went on a huge tangent about how she should look after her hair properly.

About half an hour later, Skye's hair had been root plaited on each side to the back where it was tied in pigtails with the hair between left loose. Fukuko was left to have a long cat-nap to sleep off her meal as Skye left Second Life to wake up as Qiuyue once more.

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**And chapter done. Fukuko is ridiculously exhausting to write, stupid babble mouth.**

**Pl****ease review, Reviewers get cookies**

**Your exhausted-from-writing-speech-with-no-fricking-full-stops author**

**Kouseki**


	3. Directionally Challenged Flight

**Arigatou to my lovely reviewers : chocolaty and obskurio481, remember that reviews feed the muse.**

**This chapter was sponsored by the plot cat that was forced upon- I mean gifted to me by Fukuko-chan.**

**Warnings: Swearing, insanity (of the pyromaniac variety), hyperactive babble, weird fish and crab abuse.**

**Disclaimer: Obviously I still don't own ½ Prince, but I do own Qiuyue/Skye and half-own Fukuko(/Kuzii) – other half owned by (surprise, surprise) Fukuko-chan and I shall at least part own any other OCs brought in.**

**Anyways, moving on. There is chapter amongst all this^^**

_**Chapter 3 – Directionally Challenged Flight**_

"Crap, I'm late," Qiuyue vaulted from her bed, virtual reality headset flying into the opposite wall – thankfully undamaged – and raced through the apartment, grabbing the first clothes she happened to lay her hands on. The door slammed behind her as she fled the flat to reach the nearest bus stop, leaving a very confused parakeet staring at the closed door.

Qiuyue entered the university campus looking calm and professional, not at all like she had run all the way from the bus stop like a pack of hellhounds were on her heels. She carefully schooled her features to hide the maniacal grin that took hold at the thought of torturing – I mean teaching – students in chemistry.

Soon enough the black-haired woman found herself outside the university director's office. She knocked firmly and waited, preparing herself for the interview. The invite came swiftly, allowing her to enter the brightly lit room, a (fake) smile directed at the man sitting behind a mahogany desk.

"Ah Miss Liu, such a pleasure to have a woman with such an impressive record ask for a position at our university."

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, Mr Xu. I just believe that the knowledge I have gained should be passed on," Qiuyue spoke with a soft, melodic voice, drastically different from the loud, scolding tone she usually used.

"Indeed, knowledge should be shared, but it is truly a privilege to be able to learn from a woman who was able to complete her doctorate at just twenty-three." The fake-smile became just a touch strained, _If only he knew I was only twenty, I don't think I would be able to stand the hero-worship… or the long inquiry to find out if I'm actually telling the truth. Just don't start mentioning my IQ, please don't mention the IQ._

"But still, I must ensure you're right for the job. What is it that made you decide to go into teaching?" _Whew, safe. _

"I've always liked helping others learn, I would help any students struggling on the course while I was studying myself." _Okay, so I need an outlook for my slightly sadistic tendencies which can't be found in many other jobs, the second half is actually true._

"But why university students instead of school children?"

"I'm not very good with children but I found it rewarding to help my classmates when they didn't understand something so thought it would be best to teach others nearer my own age." Yes, so most are y age or older your point? And i_t might have something to do with being able to torture older students more easily without getting into trouble for it..._Insane laughter echoed around her head, not a sound escaping for the director to hear.

"And just out of curiosity, what got you interested in chemistry?"

"It would have to be the new understanding of how things are created or broken down into more useful components and the experimental side where new things are constantly being discovered, I've always found it fascinating." _And the fire, the freedom to burn things, burn, burn, BURN MWAHAHAHAHA…_ A tinge of insanity crept into her gaze, although, fortunately, the director remained oblivious.

"Well, I think you are more than qualified and I would be glad to welcome you to this university." He smiled, holding out a hand to shake, thinking quietly in the back of his mind, _I probably shouldn't mention that she was our only applicant for the job, might give the wrong impression…_

Qiuyue left with a bright smile – mentally it was leaning towards gleefully insane – and decided now would be a good time to get breakfast, after all one cannot survive on large cups of coffee all day, though they do wonders to help.

"Venven! You're back, I had a wonderful dream, it was about fish, there were blue fish and yellow fish and green fish and purple fish and they were ruled over by a big pink fish but there were some evil red fish and orange fish that tried to take over but they were sacrificed to me and I ate a lot of fish then I was worshipped as a goddess by the fish and they were my underlings and I taught them to fly and we took over the world and created a species of land fish that would manage the land and control the enslaved humans and I got to keep all the bishies as my slaves and then there was a giant black fish - " the hyper-active cat-woman cut off abruptly at the glare sent her way that promised a horrible, painful death if she so much as thought about fish again. Skye sighed heavily, reigning in her temper so as not to seriously maim the bubbly woman that had somehow become a friend in all the years they'd known each other.

"'Kuko, don't you dare mention fish again, and shouldn't we be trying to find Prince and help him? That was the reason we were sent here in the first place." A long silence stretched between them as Fukuko thought about the question.

_Whir, whir, clunk._

"Oh yeah, then he can give us roasted eat from Meatbun and you can say hello to Fire Birdy and you can be pyromaniacs together, just don't burn the meat and I'll leave you to it while I eat roasted meat, it's so sweet and succulent but it's also nice and crispy and…"

"Okay, Okay, shush please. We're on the Southern continent but we need to get to central, so we need to earn 5000 Crystal Coins and 3 Gold Coins for a ticket. I've got about 50 Crystal Coins… This is going to take a while…"

"Ooooh, Venven Venven y'know in my cat form I can get really big and I get wings and can fly I could fly us to Central I could and then we don't need to pay and can save money!" The cat-woman started bouncing on the spot in excitement.

"Not a hope, if you still have as bad a sense of direction as you used to, we'll never get there even if you can fly." Huge kitty eyes blinked tearily at the dark-haired woman, causing her to look away and pointedly ignore the other.

"But I'm better now I swear and it would take too long to get the money, I can do it I know I can please let me try please please pretty please…"Thus started the mantra of pleases with a 'pretty' added to every third one. Ignoring it became harder and harder the longer it lasted until Skye finally folded.

"Okay, oaky, fine. Have it your way. But I blame you if we end up in the wrong place. And while we're around people, you are going to have to stay in cat form, agreed?" Fukuko prepared to babble once more but ceased at the look from her friend and satisfied herself with a rapid nod as she transformed into a black cat, with white chest and paws and two tails, that was small enough to sit on Skye's shoulder comfortably. The mage took back her fallen cloak, returning it to its place over her shoulders before setting Fukuko on top with the two tails curling around her neck.

The walk to the coast couldn't end fast enough for Skye. Half and hour of killing anonymous creatures with a babbled commentary that turned to fish whenever the previous topic was exhausted.

_Should I buy earplugs or just gag her? Which would be more effective and last longer?_ The silent pondering was the only thing preventing the mage's temper from spiralling out of control and causing the surrounding area to freeze. (It also did wonders to keep the tiny sliver of sanity she had remaining from fleeing.) The sea was a very welcome sight, although it did spark a new babble about the differences between fresh-water and salt-water fish – "…The sea-fish have a nice salty tang which is good for lunch or dinner but not so good for breakfast the lake-fish are better for breakfast 'cause they're sweeter and much more juicy but then…" – **(I do believe you get the idea)**

"'Kuko, enough about the fish. We should get flying before I realise this was an awful idea and we should have gone by boat instead." Fukuko jumped down to transform, purple smoke with neon green and orange streaks surrounded her, expanding outwards before dissipating and revealing the same cat but twice Skye's height (5'9") with feathered wings.

"What's with the messed up colour scheme?" The ice-mage shook her head, despairing with non-sensicle effects. Fukuko settled down, wings folded to allow Skye to climb on. With a muttered manta of 'this is a bad idea, really, really bad idea…" the pair took to the sky in a slightly wobbly flight – although truly it wasn't that bad for a first flight with any form of passenger. A couple of minutes after take-off, a crab was pulled from one of the demon-cat's tails and thrown into the gentle waves below.

***A few hours later***

_Okay, maybe this isn't so bad._ The flight thus far had had proven to be much more peaceful and controlled than Skye had expected. Too bad, it wasn't to last.

"Oooo shiny pretty fish fish fish I can see fiiiiiish…" Fukuko chose that moment to nose-dive towards the ocean, conveniently forgetting about the passenger shouting obscenities at the demon as she almost fell off. The sudden pulling up as she caught her shiny fish was all it took to fully unbalance the mage and send her tumbling into the water, dragging the cat with her by one of the tails.

"Stupid cat, what the bloody hell were you thinking." Skye shouted through mouthfuls of water as they both reached the surface. Fukuko looked away, telling Skye all she needed to know from the movement, and beat her wings to get herself out of the water and back into the clear air once more, making herself into a rain cloud above her companion's head in the process. Said companion, now severely pissed off and wishing for a boat, dragged herself back onto the giant cat's back and glared at the demon's ears until she got the message to get going.

Unfortunately, this was not the last of these incidents and by the time the pair reached dry land they had received 10 soakings, 3 crabs attached to either fur or hair (which were then thrown as far as anime/manga-ly possible), 11 fish caught, of which 2 escaped before being eaten, 2 chasings of birds which ended empty handed (or pawed if that would be a better term) and one case of crashing into a fishing boat (don't ask, just don't ask).

"Never again, will I ever fly by cat!" Skye solemnly vowed as she collapsed to her knees on solid ground, a weak glare being all she could muster to throw at the cat – now small again – that sat, looking so content, washing off all the seawater that had soaked through her fur and giving the mage an 'innocent of all wrongs that I could ever be accused of' look that only the most cold-hearted of individuals could ignore. Skye wasn't quite so cold-hearted yet, so looked away and just grumbled quietly to herself instead.

**And voila, a chapter magically appeared on the page but my internet is being really stupid at the moment so I've had to type this chappie out three ties already -.-**

**Anyways, please give reviews to the hungry muse and I shall see when my internet allows me to upload the next chapter(once it's finished)**

**Your pissed-off-at-annoying-internet-connection-aching-fingered-exhausted-from-writing-'Kuko-babble author**

**Kouseki**


	4. Twins and Vampires

**Ok first, I apologise for the absence, my internet was down completely for the past few weeks after being dodgy and making me lose what I wrote before that. But it is back and I'm back at school so I can write more now.**

**Thanks to chocolaty for the review, have a cookie.**

**I hereby give mention to obskurio481 as he, like Fukuko-chan, now has a character in this story.**

**Warnings : swearing, 'Kuko-babble (exhausting to write as always), a small amount of Twilight-bashing, insanity. No crab killing this time.**

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**_Chapter 4 – Twins and Vampires_**

"'Kuko, there is something I really need to tell you," Fukuko looked at Skye with wide, innocent kitty eyes, ears twitching faintly as the pair looked at the continent map in front of them. "You are an idiot, with no sense of direction still. This is the bloody Eastern Continent, is it so hard to flight strait North that you end up going North-East instead?" The mage forcibly restrained herself from hitting the cat-demon and instead started bashing her head against a nearby tree, muttering about idiot cats and flying.

"I could try again…" For once the super-babble did not make an appearance, although it may have had something to do with the glare that was fierce enough to melt stone directed at her after the first word. Fukuko gulped and turned away, thinking that maybe they _should_ get a boat for the next trip, much more reliable and less likely to bring an angry ice mage down upon her.

Skye straitened from her head-bashing and started walking through the light forest that stretched from the coast to the city of Zhû Que which rested in the South of the Eastern Continent. Fukuko hurriedly caught up and jumped onto the woman's shoulder, sitting quietly, for now.

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"Okay, to raise funds for the trip to the central continent, we're going to go on a quest." Skye emerged from the city and met up with Fukuko - who had been left outside so she wouldn't be able to cause trouble.

"Ooo, really, a quest, I've never been on a quest before, I mean there was the fish catching on I set you on but that's not the same, are they all as fun? What do we have to do? It won't be scary will it? I'd like to be another fish catching quest, you're good at those and they're fun too, as long as we don't have to kill anything, blood is too icky and really hard to get out from under my claws but I like a good chase so I wouldn't mind having to capture something, that would be fun too, but you're not saying anything and just letting me ramble which only happens when I won't like what you'll say so the quest is going to be mindless killing isn't it? I don't think I'll be much help but I'll try and..."

"Enough 'Kuko, all you need to do is use your barriers to stop them doing much damage, ok?" The demon-cat paused her worried pacing and muttering to look at Skye, nodding silently in response, once her brain caught up with what had been said. She jumped onto her usual perch on the mage's shoulder as she started walking deeper into the forest bordering Zhû Que.

"And before you ask again," - the demon's jaw audibly snapped shut - "We're going vampire hunting."

"Ooo, do they sparkle? Yay sparkly vampires they're so pretty, like baubles, if they sparkle can I keep one, as long as it's a bishie, I don't care how much they sparkle if they're ugly and they should have a decent personality as well and..." Fukuko trailed off on her own when she heard Skye muttering to herself.

"They'd better not sparkle, I swear by the Dictator of Life, if they sparkle not a single one shall be left alive. Bloody Twilight, ruining my vampires. THEY BURN IN SUNLIGHT NOT SPARKLE DAMN IT!" Fukuko sat on the floor where she had fallen at the sudden shout, blinking at the enraged mage who was glaring so fiercely, it was a miracle there wasn't a spontaneous forest fire. The cat returned to her perch, tails stroking Skye gently to calm her down. Slowly, it worked until the forest was no longer in danger and the pair moved off again - Fukuko was very careful to never again mention anything that could possibly be related to Twilight.

All was peaceful for half an hour before Fukuko tensed suddenly. Skye went to ask what was wrong but - incredibly - was shushed by the demon.

"Don't react, bishie at twelve o'clock." The woman sighed and ignored her passenger, walking on without even acknowledging the bishieness as he passed, she only spoke once he was well out of sight and hearing range.

"You and your bloody bishie-complex, I truly despair." Another sigh accompanied her words, causing Fukuko to poke her harshly with a tail.

"At least I'm don't feel the need to burn anything that so much as sways in the breeze."

"Bishie-complex."

"Pyromaniac."

"Bishie-complex."

"Pyromaniac."

"Oh, I am so not starting this again. I have already wasted too many hours of my life on these arguments before we found ourselves in this manga-verse, I will not waste any more." Fukuko pouted - as well as a cat can anyway - but said no more, secretly happy she had managed to get Skye to act a little childish for a short while, she was always far too serious for her age.

* * *

Arriving at the vampire cave proved Skye's fears to be baseless as a vampire was flung from the cave, into the fading sunlight and spontaneously combusting, turning to ashes before it could even hit anything, thus allowing Skye to let off a pyromaniacle laugh in relief and joy. A purple-haired head poked out from the cave - lack of fire proving it to not be a vampire - glancing curiously at the source of the insanity that reverberated around the clearing. The mage coughed, cutting off the laughter and allowing an awkward silence to ensue.

"Um, hi. You here to hunt vampires too?" The purple-haired man stepped further into the swiftly darkening clearing, revealing eyes the colour of grass in spring, with glasses perched in front. He wore a traditional style chinese top with somewhat baggy sleeves and wrist guards that reach the elbows, covering the thumb and first two finger at the other end. His belt was hung loosely on one side, quiver-strap connected to the other, at te top of fitted trousers with bare feet below.

"Yes, I'm Skye Ravenfeather, mage I specialise in ice, secondary water. This is Fukuko, my pet, a cat-demon barrier master." Awkwardness broken, the pair came to an unspoken agreement to not mention the moment of insanity.

"Would you like to join us then, my twin brother and I are doing the same. I'm Dee Ming,an archer. My brother's Dumu Ming, a ninja." A second purple-haired man appeared, seemingly from nowhere, though most likely was just using ludicrous speed.

"Someone say my name?" The newly appeared brother had shorter, spiky hair compared to the first's shoulder length and straight. He was also a lot taller, a couple of inches above Skye's own 5'9" which was a few above the archer's. The only real similarities between the two was the general facial structure, eyes and the hair colour.

"And who would this lovely lady be, dear brother of mine." Skye allowed the flirting to go on for surprisingly long few minutes before the irritation became too much and the too tall, gangly ninja found himself with a broken nose and ice rooting him to the spot while the mage headed towards the cave. Dee Ming took the moment to introduce Skye to his brother, thinking that unless the other two were far apart, he would find himself without a brother before too long, meanwhile said mage used the brief time to limit her vocabulary to meows and to keep those quiet and to a minimum when inside the cave.

"Ok, let's move on. With that cat as a barrier master we can pull more enemies at once without much trouble." - Afore mention cat gave a pleased half meow-half purr at the comment - "The only thing that would be more useful is a priest but she'll be pretty good for now." - Cat smile turns to glare as the tall ninja died painfully in Fukuko's mind for the nerve of him - " I'll go pull some enemies, wait here." The taller twin, or Tweedle Dum as Fukuko had quietly renamed him, sped off to attract the vampire's attention. The archer - Tweedle Dee - prepared himself, notching an arrow into his bow. Skye followed his example and drew some water from the tiny stream, which ran around the edge of the room they had stationed themselves in, forming a puddle around her feet and freezing some into a small pile of ice pellets to fire at her targets. Fukuko gathered her energy for a barrier that would go up as soon as the ninja returned.

By morning, just before they logged out, many vampires were slaughters, much money was made, a certain nose was repeatedly broken by 'accidental' friendly fire and the trio (quartet including cat) was pretty worn out and covered in blood - except for Fukuko who had managed to find a nice overhanging ledge to hide on where she could still raise barriers but wouldn't be touched by the blood guts and other innards - but pleased with the result of a night's work.

* * *

The next day found the small group in a pub within the city with Dumu Ming tied to a chair at the other end of the table to prevent him from breaking his nose (again) due to excessive flirting and/or groping of the female with a bad temper.

"Ok, we seem to be able to work quite well as a group, my brother's personality aside, but we should find a few others to form a proper team. Particularly necessary would be a tank, we don't have enough health between us to tackle anything too big at the moment. We also need a priest of some sort, Fukuko's barriers are great but we need a better way to heal ourselves than just stocking up on potions." Dee paused at the approach of a young woman with long, reddish-brown hair.

"I overheard you saying you were looking to form a team, would you allow me to join? My name's Yu Lian, mage. I specialise in Fire, secondary earth." Before he could say something stupid Dumu was silenced by a glare from Skye allowing his brother to answer in a more reasonable manner - they silently agreed it was best not to allow the perving nature of the ninja to be revealed quite yet.

"I'm afraid it could really only be a temporary measure as we already have a mage but you're welcome to join us until you find another team." Again the pervert was silenced before he had the opportunity to speak, this time by a demon-cat's tail finding its way into his mouth, depositing a large volume of fur before exiting and wiping itself on the man's clothes to remove the slobber that was gathered. Thankfully Yu Lian, either by ignorance or deliberately, didn't react to the small side play as she agreed and found herself temporarily on the as yet unnamed team.

* * *

**And done.**

**Review for cookies, as the muse prefers the reviews to the cookies, I find this odd but my brother is a source of insanity so it's not so surprising.**

**Anyways, hopefully the muse will stay awake for a while now to inspire the next chapter.**

**Your pissed-off-at-internet-but-happy-now-it-works-and-finding-it-odd-to-be-so-happy-about-being-back-at-school author**

**Kouseki**


	5. Zombies and Weird Curses

**And I bring forth another chapter**

**Thanks to chocolaty and H for reviews, the plot parakeet that sponsors this chapter enjoys them.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Half Prince, dammit**

**And onwards**

* * *

**_Chapter 5 - Zombies and Weird Curses_**

**_AN/ hello this is Fukuko-chan, I've hijacked seki-chan's account mwhahahaha anyway enjoy the chapter XDXDXD_**

"How many times have I told you not to waste money on unnecessary things? I swear if you try it one more time, I will chop off your hands and feed them to the cat!" Zhū Què City resounded with Yulian's voice as a certain ninja, currently attempting – unsuccessfully – to hide behind his brother, was chewed out again for using money wastefully. Skye stood a distance away – to protect her and Fukuko's ears – watching on with amusement at the cowering man.

"Personally, I don't think his hands would taste very nice..." For once in her life, Fukuko managed to speak quietly and without babble. The mage's amusement simply heightened and, with her good mood, allowed Fukuko to nestle in her arms to sleep, the cat-demon purring at the gentle stroking that commenced.

Dee managed to extract himself from his role as middle-man in the fight to stand by the group's unofficial leader.

"Shouldn't you stop them?" He asked quietly, worry for his brother lacing his words.

"Perhaps, just let me enjoy this for a few more moments." Those moments passed agonisingly slowly for the twins, one desperately hoping someone would help, the other torn between going back in or asking again as more seconds of inaction passed.

"Yulian, I think he gets the idea, you can stop before he folds so far into himself that he becomes pocket sized." The fire mage threw one last glare at the ninja before acquiescing to the request, magically returning to the sweet young woman persona that had everyone, not on the incomplete team, fooled.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I really thought she was going to kill me that time and..." Unfortunately for Dumu, Skye was not in the mood to listen to hundred-mile-an-hour babble and didn't appreciate being clung to for any reason. He thus found himself nursing a large lump on the head, courtesy of the mage's staff.

* * *

He was still sulking as they travelled Northwest towards Bái Hu City, where they could catch a boat to the Central Continent. To make things worse for him, his usual anti-depressant activity – flirting outrageously with pretty girls – was way off-limits due to the identities of the only two females within range. And so, for him, the journey passed agonisingly slowly, his brother too busy discussing important stuff with the Hell Mages to distract him.

Fukuko watched as the ninja slowly trudged after the other three, deciding to take pity on him and at least try to cheer him up before his depression distracted him enough to get himself killed. She jumped to an over-hanging branch, ignoring the question glance sent her way by Skye, and settled onto the depressed ninja's shoulder, nuzzling the side of his head and purring when a hand rose to stroke her.

Unfortunately, cat therapy wasn't given the time to truly be effective as moments later the group found itself subject to an ambush. An almost human shriek came from Fukuko as she rocketed to the highest branch she could safely balance on, acting as a warning to the group about the zombies staggering towards them. The nearest ones found themselves in fiery or icy graves, courtesy of the quick thinking mages.

"Kuko, barriers." The demon-cat whimpered before complying, her wish to help overpowering her zombie-phobia -although that may only have been possible due to the position she held, far, far above the reach of any zombie that wanted her.

"Magic Permeable Barrier."The barrier rose around the four on the ground, repelling the zombies' attacks. Yet it seemed luck had gone on holiday as the boss controlling the zombies took the slight drop in guard as an opportunity to attack. The curse hit Dumu before anyone noticed the lich was even there. The ninja dropped to the ground as agony tore through his body, mostly concentrated in his head. A storm of fire rained down on the lich and his minions, followed by a wave of ice, freezing all in its path, including the half-dead lich, draining it of further hit points, the last hit points taken care of by a well aimed Splitting Arrow from an enraged twin, the five arrows hitting vital or semi-vital points - head, heart, lungs and gut. Fukuko returned to the ground and sat back on Skye's shoulder.

"Over-kill much?" She then decided to inspect the injured twin that sat cradling his head in his hands, his brother flitting around like a mother hen, trying and failing to be helpful.

"So, any ideas what the curse did other than sending a flash of agony through my head?" the ninja griped as he pulled himself to his feet, refusing the offered assistance.

"Nothing obvious, there're no abnormal growths, no added appendages, no mysterious wounds, nothing missing, it's a bit of a pointless curse as far as I can see." With her thoughts voiced, Skye decided they should get going and started leading them on, hoping to not run into anymore delays. Dumu however seemed to be _trying_ to delay them, stopping every few minutes and looking around as if he thought they were being followed. There was only so much of this a short-tempered ice-mage could deal with, and after a while she finally snapped.

"What is wrong with you? Nothing is following us, so stop acting like a paranoid wreck dragged out of isolation!" She glared back at him, the look almost daring him to argue.

"Can't you hear those voices, they're everywhere but really quiet." Dumu gestured wildly at the surrounding forest, a semi-insane desperation in his eyes.

"Brother, there are no voices. It could be an effect of the lich's curse, so please try to ignore them." Dee, ever the voice of reason managed to calm the too before it came to bloodshed, only for it to be undone by Fukuko moments later.

_'It's ok, Tweedle Dum, I'll protect you from the voices.'_ The cat-demon meowed from her spot on his shoulder.

"The cat is talking!" The ninja shrieked - in a very manly way, of course - and jumped, dislodging the demon from her spot, leaving her grumbling to herself on the ground.

"Okay, so we've established that you're an insane cat-speaker. Let's move on." The ice-mage started walking then stopped - again - and sighed at his questioning glance. "The cat meowed, dumbass. So either you were born insane and understanding cat or it's what that curse did. Either way, we're leaving. Now." All protests from the ninja lay unheeded, so he dejectedly followed, Fukuko perched on his shoulder once more, purring lightly into his ear until her owner's words finally processed.

_'Wait, you can understand me? Really? Yays, I can talk with someone now, so what's your favourite food? Mine's fish, especially that pink one Venven caught for me, oh and Venven is what I call Skye because her other name is Ravenfeather, but that fish was really nice and there was this bird I caught once, after you get through all the feathers it's very tasty but I can't remember what bird it was, oh well, and I don't know what you were hearing earlier 'cause I wasn't speaking, maybe the squirrels, they talk a lot, can you understand all animals or just cats? Maybe Venven would know, and your name is Tweedle Dum because you and your brother are twins and your names are similar, and you know what there was once this big black fish I caught..."_

* * *

In this way Tweedle Dum was subjected to 'Kuko Uber-Babble torture until they passed the three-quarter point to their destination.

"I can't take it anymore! Skye, please shut your cat up, she keeps calling me Tweedle Dum and I can't listen to anything more about fish, please!" He pressed the stunned cat-demon into her owner's arms and backed away, hands covering his ears as he huddled into a small ball.

"'Kuko, stay here and stop annoying him, but the name may well stick, now come on, it's not much further." The ninja grumbled but didn't comment, now wondering if silencing the cat was the best idea as the voices - possibly of squirrels - were made audible once more.

And just as he was cursing their furry existence, one of the little rodents revealed itself at the base of a tree edging their path. He gave it a glare, only snapping back into reality as his twin approached it, commenting on its 'cuteness'.

"No! The squirrels are plotting our demise. It's true I tell you, that's what I've been hearing all this time." Three dubious looks - and one kitty grin - were sent his way but his words were somewhat heeded as they ignored the squirrel that glared after them, muttering about stupid curses letting humans understand them.

* * *

**And voila the chapter is done, I actually finished this on the weekend but haven't been able to finish typing it till now *mutters about stupid time restrictions on computers***

**Dum: whyy did you have to curse me !*cries and grows mushrooms***

**Fukuko-chan: well it started off too serious, so we needed to add humour**

**Me: Plus we really couldn't resist the temptation to torture you a bit ^^**

**Fukuko-chan: sorry *hides behind Kouseki-chan and laughs* sorry **

**Dum: hey stop laughing at me !**

**Dee: You two seriously need to curb your sadistic tendencies. *Receives two sadistic grins* Or not, just leave me alone.**

**Anyways, please review, as they feed the plot menagerie.**

**Your exhausted-from-'Kuko-babble-and-apologetic-for-taking-so-long author**

**Kouseki**


	6. Westward Bound

**You find yourself in a room. A single door lies opposite you. Slowly the door opens, revealing a white flag. An arm moves the flag cautiously back and forth as a figure comes into view. The shadowed figure speaks timidly, "Please don't kill me."**

**Please? I know this update has been a long time coming and I'm so sorry, don't eat me, I'll never produce another chapter if you do. *raises arms over head to defend from angry fans***

**Disclaimer : Not mine**

**So I'll give you the chapter now before you all turn into cannibals. **

**Warnings: 'Kuko babble**

* * *

_**Chapter 6 – Westward Bound**_

It was with great relief that Tweedle Dum entered Bái Hu City, finally leaving behind the scheming squirrel population. Now all he had to deal with was the babble-cat that had decided he was her favourite person.

'_Ooo, what's that? And that? I never got a good look around Zhu Que so it's all new, is that a shop? Does it sell fish? And what are the people like? Are they NPCs or players? I've heard you terms but what's the difference? Wait, stop walking I think I smell something… Fish!' _Even ninja speed was not enough to stop the determined cat from escaping and assaulting the couple who had decided to buy fish a few minutes earlier. 'Kuko, ever determined to feast on fish, turned her most deadly weapon – even worse than the babble torture – against them. The Cute, Pleading Kitty Eyes. Not even Skye herself was completely immune to their effects, so the poor couple didn't stand a chance, and the fish was given up to Fukuko, who devoured it in moments. A second later, the ninja caught up, apologising profusely for the bother the demon had caused.

"It's no problem, really. We couldn't let the poor kitty starve." Afore mentioned 'Poor Kitty' meowed in thanks, purring happily.

"Well, it seems that she thanks you for it. We should get back to our team, Fukuko's owner will probably be worrying about her." Tweedle Dum crouched down to let Fukuko jump onto his shoulder before starting to walk back the way he had come.

"Your team wouldn't be looking for a warrior and a priest would it? We were just thinking of joining or making a team ourselves."

"I'm sure we could use you, but I'm not the best person to ask, my brother or Skye would know more about such things. I'm Dumu, ninja." He desperately tried to ignore the babble from a certain cat which contained 'helpful tips', i.e. useless drivel about fish and her thoughts on what Skye would do when she found them (the options warring for most likely were being frozen and left behind or being pummelled to an inch of his life)

"Lead on then, I'm Mr Feng, warrior and this is my wife, Mrs Feng, Priest."

The reunion after 'Kuko's little escapade was not what many would expect. First the expected – Skye taking her demon-cat and checking her over, relieved when she found nothing out of place. Then, the unexpected, to all that don't know her – An annoyed ice-mage dragging a trembling ninja into a less crowded alley and proceeding to teach him what happens to people who catnap her pet, conveniently ignoring the fact said pet ran off on her own. This left Tweedle Dee to deal with Mr and Mrs Feng, first assisting in reattaching their jaws that had dropped to the floor at Skye's actions, then sorting out the details of them joining the team. Yu Lian allowed herself to enjoy watching Dumu being shouted at by someone else for a change, stroking the cat that joined her while the others were busy.

* * *

**An Unspecified Period of Time Later**

* * *

Fukuko once again found herself cuddling up with Tweedle Dum to comfort him after being thoroughly put down by one of the mages. His brother chatted with Mr and Mrs Feng, and the mages were off buying tickets for the boat crossing to the Central Continent.

_'Don't worry Tweedle Dum, she won't stay mad at you forever and probably didn't mean most of what she said, I think but so long as you don't do anything for a while it'll be fine, she's forgiven me for much worse things even if it took a while, and at least you'll be alright on the boat, I don't like boats, I'll swim quite happily but I don't like boats much, I think I might get seasick which is never fun, it makes me unable to eat anything even if it was the most delicious fish…'_ Strangely enough 'Kuko's words did help, somewhat.

"Ok everyone, up and on board. Ship leaves in twenty minutes and it's not going to wait for you." Skye called out the scattered team, walking towards the ship nestled at the end of a wooden pier. The ninja sighed, not looking forward to five days on a boat with an annoyed mage. Fukuko moved to his shoulder, so he could stand without dislodging her, and wrapped her tails around his neck like a furry scarf, ready to save him from himself should he try to say something stupid. Such as now , trying to apologise to Skye when doing so would only serve to annoy her more. The tails tightened, the words stop and the ninja accepts defeat in exchange for air.

However, 'Kuko's protection was not to last. After the seasickness took hold, she hid herself away in Skye's cabin, attempting to sleep for the voyage, and unable to look out for the foolish ninja. He soon found himself with a broken nose and a warning to stay away from all females for the journey.

* * *

Deep sapphire eyes open, a hand pulling the headset away as a long yawn escapes. A pitiful meow sounds from beside Qiuyue's ear, the small ginger kitten that was its source nuzzling her in an attempt to get food from her. She had found the kitten abandoned further up her road and couldn't bear to leave it there. The twenty year old may be bad-tempered with no patience and a rather large sadistic streak when dealing with people – especially children – but with animals she suddenly transformed into a bleeding heart that can't say no.

"Okay, okay, I'm up, stop licking me!" The licking had started after about half a minute of ignoring the cat in favour of the comfy bed. The kitten – which she named Saeng-Gang – allowed his slave to rise and followed her to the kitchen, jumping onto the table to await his breakfast.

After they had both eaten, the parakeet had been fed and Qiuyue had dressed, she exited the flat with a reminder the Saeng-Gang to be good and not eat the bird. She headed towards the university for meeting with the rest of the staff before the beginning of term. Her entry to the campus was a little less harried than the last time, although few would be able to tell the difference, and she carried a large mug of coffee to keep her awake through the meeting.

Unfortunately, Qiuyue underestimated just how boring the university director's introductory speech would be. Half an hour in, he was still going strong – something about students maybe, she wasn't really listening any more She mentally groaned and stared mournfully at her empty coffee cup, wishing desperately for another.

_Where's an annoying babble-mouth cat when you need one to distract you? I'll try not to complain about her too much in the future… No promises. _The young teacher jerked back to the present at the sight of coffee in front of her.

"It looks like you need this more than me." She glanced at the man beside her. He looked to be in his early twenties with fairly short, spiky, black hair and brown eyes. Qiuyue gave him a grateful smile.

"You are a lifesaver. I don't think I could last to the end without it." She quietly responded, happily boosting her caffeine levels to counter the mind numbing boredom that permeated the room.

After the torture ended the teachers gathered for caffeine in order to recover.

"I don't think that could have been more boring if he'd tried." Qiuyue sat at a small table, cradling another cup of coffee and passing one to the other young teacher.

"I'm sure he could, he could have made it longer." A new voice – belonging to a tall, blond haired man with brown eyes – joined them, causing the chemistry teacher to groan, not daring to imagine the horror the new voice proposes.

"Don't even mention that, I don't think my poor brain would survive. My name's Liu Qiuyue, the new chemistry teacher."

"I think everyone would agree with you there. I'm Lee Tian Lang, the doctor." Getting a better look at him, now that the horrifying mental images were banished, Qiuyue realised Tian Lang wasn't just tall, he was freakishly tall, especially compared to her own height of 5'9".

"And I'm Ming Gui Wen, the new literature teacher, a pleasure to meet you both."

A couple of hours passed, the trio eventually parting ways and heading to their own homes. Qiuyue crashed onto her bed, exhausted from the low after ingesting so much caffeine in a short time. She absently stroked Saeng-Gang as she returned to Second Life, the kitten purring happily and curling into a ball at her side.

* * *

**Sorry it's a bit of a filler, such is part of why it took so long, my muse doesn't like boring chapters. As well as exams, which broke the line of inspiration in January. Which I also have more of in June. I'll try not to ever let such a long gap between updates occur ever again. Fukuko-chan will probably kick me into gear if I do.**

**Your Really-very-sorry-for-slow-update-aching-fingered- from-typing-this-quickly-with-helpful-cats-and-goi ng-to-hide-in-a-corner-and-make-cookies-for-review ers-now Author**

**Kouseki**


	7. Sorrow and a New Victim

**You find yourself back in the room. No doors break the monotony of the walls. You turn around to survey what may lie behind you and find your author huddled into a corner, mushrooms growing around her. You creep closer trying to hear what she says to herself, her quiet voice barely audible even as you approach. "No one loves me any more, where are the reviews that once flowed? Where have the faithful fled to? Why does depression make me grow mushrooms?" **

**See, I keep my promises and don't take so long. But where are the reviews, people? The muse needs these things, they keep the inspiration going, and will be extra necessary as during the next few weeks I have exams so have less time to work on fanfics.**

**As I kind of forgot last time, thanks to FreezinWinter, chocolaty and ShoalSaltIceCream for the reviews then. Thanks to the latter for his review via PM this time, the only faithful that gets a cookie.**

**Disclaimer: Still no.**

**Fukuko-chan: If I did then all the bishies would be my slaves, mwhahahaha! And please review*cute kitty eyes***

**Warnings: 'Kuko babble, desperate 'Kuko babble, swearing(once I think - I'm so well mannered), sad beginning - I'm sorry it's necessary, had real-'Kuko in tears but had to happen, zombies, scheming wildlife, the usual.**

**Moving**** on.**

* * *

**_Chapter 7 – Sorrow and a New Victim_**

"I have to leave." For the first time since arriving in Moon City on the Central Continent even Fukuko was silent. Yu Lian faced the rest of the team, a remorseful yet determined look in her eyes.

'_No, don't let her go, she can't go, we need her to manage our money, she can't leave, stop her, I don't want her to go, she's a good friend for Venven, Venven doesn't make friends easily she can't lose one, don't let Yu Lian leave.' _Tweedle Dum held the struggling cat demon tightly, trying to ignore the desperately please she emitted.

"Why now, Yu Lian?" Skye spoke softly, in a rare moment of calm tainted by sorrow.

"You know my place on this team was only temporary, two opposite mages were never going to work well, but there is another thing. I've found the most perfect man, I have to follow him and draw his attention. I think his team needs a mage so I'll fit better there anyway." At the mention of her love interest, Yu Lian's eyes sparkled, slightly brightening the gloomy mood that had descended.

Mr and Mrs Feng stood off to the side, giving the others space for goodbyes as they hadn't had the chance to get as close to Yu Lian as the others. Though they had been around enough to know that fish for Fukuko would help lift the sombre atmosphere later. Currently, afore mentioned cat was yowling loudly (_Stop, please, you can't go, Yu Lian!..._) and clinging to Yu Lian in a last desperate attempt to prevent her from leaving. Skye eventually managed to detach her and bid Yu Lian farewell, gently stroking her pet to slowly calm her.

* * *

**Time Skip**

Fifty tuna later, Fukuko was finally recovered enough to move from the spot of Yu Lian's departure. Tweedle Dee thought it best to get some training done, in order to work on their teamwork and to allow the more volatile member to blow of some steam – or more accurately ice – before his brother suffered for it.

Said brother was not pleased to enter another forest. The noise was worse than 'Kuko on fish and those damn squirrels were still plotting world domination, although it seems the bunnies here are in on it too. Crafty little fluffers, they are. He was distracted from his slow descent into madness due to the voices when a previously mentioned cat shot towards the group from her scouting position in front, yowling loudly, '_Venven, save me, they're going to eat my brains!_' At Tweedle Dum's translation Skye started to bash her head against a tree muttered about 'damned zombies, everywhere we bloody go'.

"'Kuko, barriers. Mr Feng, you're on frontal attack. Mrs Feng, keep him alive. Dumu, sneak attack, get behind them and off them while they're distracted. Dee, we're picking off the stragglers, keep an eye on our flanks." Mini-breakdown over, Skye was quick to take charge, organising the group to maximise each member's abilities.

As a whole the team worked well, Mr Feng chopping through the main body of the zombie horde that had descended, any injuries swiftly healed by his wife, the damage reduced by the 'Magic Permeable Barrier' that 'Kuko raised around him to absorb the physical damage. Tweedle Dum used his speed to his advantage, swiftly offing the stronger opponents before they could do too much damage. Arrows and Ice Bullets effectively dealt with any zombies trying to flank the group, or getting too close the ranged trio – Fukuko not included as she had retreated to a sufficiently high branch that nothing land-bound could possibly reach her.

As the last zombie fell, a high-pitched scream echoed from the direction the zombies had come.

"Come, let us rescue the Damsel in Distress." And the mood from the victory was ruined by an idiot opening his mouth. Skye gave Tweedle Dum a withering glare as the others face-palmed, but they did accept the idea to go and help the poor fool who probably found herself facing a boss alone.

Rushing to scene, a few surprises were had, first the 'Damsel in Distress' was male. Kind of girly-looking but definitely male. With short, curly, pink hair, black eyes and an eye patch. And now falling to the ground unconscious. Cue more face-palms.

"Okay, same basic formation. Dumu, hit hard and get out. Mr Feng, keep hold of his attention, 'Kuko and Mrs Feng will keep you alive. Dee and I will deal with any minions that come out of the woodwork and help wear him down." The Quintet plus cat-in-a-tree readied themselves to take down the Zombie Boss, a 6'6" creature with blood oozing sluggishly from the holes in his flesh, a huge axe hanging loosely in one hand. Tweedle Dum quickly dragged the 'Damsel' out of the line of fire, dumping him into the middle of the ranged trio. The boss tried to follow his stolen prey but was intercepted by Mr Feng, longsword biting deep into his side. The monster was barely fazed, knocking the warrior into a tree with the swing of his arm. His wife hurriedly healed him, glad for the ninja of the team distracting the boss before it tried to finish off the warrior.

Dee broke off from the ranged group, drawing the zombie's attention with him while his brother slowly knocked its health down with speed attacks at its back. A rain of ice fell down upon the creature, knocking its health down nicely, though due to its undead state the pain barely registered, not slowing it down in the least.

Mr Feng rose again, healed from the earlier knock, barrelling into the zombie's back, sword digging through the flesh and tearing a new chunk out of the side. A flaming arrow from Dee lodged itself into the boss' eye, finally drawing a pained reaction from the undead creature, although the rage that followed was not helpful to their fight.

Skye quickly froze the being's feet in place, preventing it from launching itself at the archer that swiftly drew away from its attack range. A concentrated barrage of arrows, ice and ninja attacks dragged the boss' health down before it could break free. It lurched towards the ranged pair standing over the unconscious 'Damsel'. Before it could reach them a volley of blue balls of fire rained down from the treetops, sea-blue eyes glowing from their origin as the demon-cat glared at the smoking ashes that tried to attack her Venven.

"Your cat throws fireballs?" The simple statement broke the silence that had descended on the battlefield.

"Yeah. She doesn't normally use them though." A groan from the fallen 'Damsel' broke the awkward atmosphere that followed. It was soon followed by an 'oof' as a certain cat had decided the fallen man was the best landing place to return from the trees.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tweedle Dee was left to take charge of the new situation, Skye was good at organising fights but was probably the worst one to deal with people, especially as this one seemed to be a kid, no more than 16 or 17 years old.

"I think so. What happened? Why am I on the ground? Is there dirt in my hair?!" And it got worse. The overly camp voice grated on Skye's nerves, threatening to undo the good that all the fighting did to calm her. _Deep breaths, don't murder him, you don't even know him just survive this encounter, you never have to see him again, just keep calm._ The mantra ran through her head desperately trying not to chuck ice at the unknown boy.

"Well, we found you facing a boss alone and you passed out. And… er no, there's no dirt in your hair." Dee's confusion at the random question deepened at the ridiculously relieved sigh that escaped the –most likely gay- boy. The team got a laugh out of the following events, Tweedle Dum rolling on the floor, Skye supporting herself with a tree, the couple supporting each other and Dee being a bit more subtle.

Said events go as follows.

A shriek echoes through the trees as Fukuko jumps onto the boy's head. She kneaded the hair softly, pulling it into a cosy nest around her as she settles down, ignoring the screams and cries of the kid, bemoaning the ruins of his hair, and sobbing as she starts licking it to force it to stay in position, grooming it around her. Dum's added hysteria was brought about by the commentary from the cat herself.

'_Look at this hair, it's pink, like that wonderful fish Venven caught for me, and it's so soft and fluffy, I want to just make a nest and stay there, I don't think he'll mind, maybe I could keep him as my nest, Venven can I keep him? Oh, wait she can't understand me, Tweedle Dum can you as Venven if I can keep him, he's really comfortable, do you think he minds me being here, I mean he doesn't seem happy but he's not shoving me off or anything, so can I keep him, pleeeeease?..._' Eventually Tweedle Dum gathered enough control to be able to relay the question to Skye, who sighed at the thought of having to look after a kid but agreed, if only to save herself the headache refusing would bring.

"Ok kid, what's your name?" Skye walked over to the crying boy, ignoring the pitiful sobs he emitted, and giving 'Kuko a quick scratch between the ears, caused a happy purr to rumble through her.

"Juuri, warrior *sniff*. Could you please get the cat off me, it's ruining my hair?" Unfortunately for Juuri, Skye was well hardened against any human attempt at cute kitty eyes so his pleading look was ineffective.

"Unfortunately no, unless you want to lose most of the hair at the same time. Fukuko does get possessive of anything she claims, and she finds your hair very comfortable. Now, as she has expressed a liking of you, would you like to join our team? A place recently opened and judging from the last fight, another warrior would be useful." Skye extended a hand to the sniffling warrior sitting in front of her,

"Ok, I guess. But just so you know, I really don't like blood, and can you try to keep the cat away when you next log in?" Juuri accepted the hand and was pulled up, staying amazingly level and not dislodging the demon-cat curled up on his head.

"I'll do what I can but no promises. She may head back to Tweedle Dum on her own anyway as he can understand her crazy yowling. Anyway, welcome aboard, these are Dee and Dumu Ming, archer and ninja respectively, Mr and Mrs Feng, warrior and priest, and I'm Skye Ravenfeather, ice mage, you already know Fukuko, my pet demon-cat and barrier master." Skye gestured to each member at their introduction.

"Nice to meet you." Juuri smiled tightly at them, still internally fussing over the mess the cat made of his hair. The group of six(seven) made their way back to Moon City, thankfully for all their sanity – and Juuri's hair – they didn't come across any more zombies, though Tweedle Dum still had to put up with the scheming wildlife slowly driving him nuts.

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**And that is all I have for you this time. I can tell you now if the reviews remain as sparse I'm going to be eating a whole tonne of cookies by myself. And you could potentially find yourself in a field of mushrooms next chapter, I'll be an expert of 'shroom growing.**

**Anyways, leave a review on your way out and I'll see you next time.**

**Your determined-to-get-this-chapter-done-before-the- first-exam-breaks-muse-and-surprisingly- undisturbed-by-cats author**

**Kouseki**


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